How to make Hot Water Crust for Pies
It’s cold in the Southern Hemisphere, forgive us if this recipe is not suitable for your current balmy summer evenings, somewhere else. It maybe one to keep for colder times.
Although there is no end of pasta at my house (Skaters choice/ teenager) a pie is always more than welcome. The two of us have a project in mind this week, and that is for me to teach him how to make a good Chicken and vegetable Pie. This is apparently what he would like to be able to master culinarily speaking, and I am more than happy to encourage such a lesson.
We have made the Quick Chicken Pie into an art, using both puff pastry and filo pastry in the past. This hot water crust is a little more interesting. It’s firm and chewy and really survives rough treatment more importantly it lives through a microwave blitz as a left over food. (As all food should in a house containing a teenage boy) We haven’t made the chicken version yet, but this one was welcomed warmly.
Wrap your hot water crust around any left over foods you might have. Try leftovers such as bolognese or ragu, maybe you have some roast vegetables or chicken, a stew that just isn’t quite enough to go around. All these are great ways to use this crust. Be inspired and make a chunky pork sausage filling instead of using left overs because this crust is perfect for pork pies. What ever you do with it, it’s easy to handle. I wanted to test this recipe to make sure it was easy enough for Skater. I had this in one of my recipe books so I filled my pie with left over lazagne filling of Slow Braised Lamb and Porcini. The filling is best if it isn’t too runny.
Easy Hot Water Crust for Pies
Ingredients
- 150 gm butter salted or unsalted 5.29 oz
- 200 ml water 7 fl oz
- 2 whole eggs (100gm- 3.5oz)
- 450 gm plain flour 3 cups / 15.85 gm
- 1/4 teaspoon salt salt is important for browning and flavour here
- 1 whole egg yolk
- 1/8 teaspoon salt for glazing beaten together with yolk
Instructions
- Set the oven to 180C / 350 F. use a 20- 23 cm / 8- 10 in pie dish
- Put the chopped butter and water into a small pot and put over a medium heat until the butter dissolves and the liquid reaches a rolling boil. Take off the heat.
- Cool a little. Mix the flour and salt together and pour the butter mixture and the flour mixture into a mixer bowl. (of a stand mixer)
- Mix the two eggs together in a cup breaking up with a fork. Pour the eggs over the flour butter mixture and turn onto low immediatly mixing togetherly. This can also be mixed by hand
- Mix until the dough forms a ball. Pour out onto a bench and push the dough into a disc. ( if using a wooden spoon stir till the liquid is all but mixed in and then knead lightly). Over kneading will give a tougher crust, so work it gently till it is nice and smooth. If your dough is very sticky and stays in clumps on your hands then sprinkle with more flour till it just comes together. ( some eggs are bigger and some flour is just not as absorbent).
- Cool the pastry a little and refrigerate till cold
- Once the pastry is cool. Divide into x 2 . One disc should be about 3/4 of the dough and 1/4 left for a lid. Use a little flour to roll it out the dough and push into a greased pie plate. The pastry is plyable.
- Fill the base with your cool filling, then brush the edges with egg and add the lid. Crimp around the top
- Paint the top with egg yolk mixed with salt and pierce a couple of holes on the top.
- Bake at 180 C degrees for approximately 35-40 minutes or until golden
Hot water crust
Pastry cooling
Ready to be rolled
This cake tin makes a great pie dish – non stick removable bottom
Rolling
rolling the pastry
Simple hot water crust
Give it a try and let me know if it was easy for you
Hello! Writing from California, where raised pies are unheard of… wondering if I can make this dough the day before needing to cook it?? Also, do you recommend always filling with something cooked, or can raw ingredients be used?
I believe your US reader has confused the oven temperature as Fahrenheit instead of Celsius. You may wish to use the symbol C to avoid confusion. Thank you for an easy hot water pastry.
Sorry about that Maureen. I think you will find it a bit clearer now.
I was thinking of using a puff pastry as the lid to my pie and use this recipe as the base. But I’m not sure about the cooking time if that would work. Have you ever combined the two?
Hi Leah. The filling is already cooked. The cooking time would not really change as your puff pastry will take about the same time as the hot water crust. If you put hot water crust on the bottom and puff pastry on the top it would also be perfect!
Regards
Tania
Love this recipe! Have made it twice now and both times great results! Thank you!
So glad it is a recipe you can use a lot. Thanks for letting me know
Hey! Used this crust tonight to make a pie with the turkey leftover from our (American) Thanksgiving dinner.
Was absolutely phenomenal.
I’ve always made cold water/cold butter flaky pie crust in the past and its so finnicky. I thought this was loads easier.
The only thing I’ll say is that I had to bake it much longer at and a much higher temp to get the crust golden brown. My oven is a bit wonky but it was closer to an hour at 350 degrees for me.
I will use this recipe again and soon, I can already think of tons I want to try.
Thanks again,
James in Wisconsin.
Lovely, clear, easy to follow recipe. Have done this a few times now and always works well with a nice crisp snap to the pastry. Freezes well too and doesn’t go soft when reheating leftovers in the micro. Thanks for all your hard work.
Oh Wow it is so nice to get such a lovely comment. Thank you so much Leo
Tania next time we meet can we put aside a very nerdy conversation on pastry to be had please? I used to be terribly afraid of pastry but the last few years have come to be much more comfortable with it. I still don’t particularly understand it though. Whip the butter, chop the butter, now your telling me to melt the butter?? That has to be tried now clearly! Mmmm, and now I have to think of the dish to give it a crack on…
Tania I made the pastry and it’s great. Dead easy, also easy to handle, and holds the insides really well. Thank you 🙂 I have a new pastry up my sleeves!
What an interesting idea for crust!
Your pies are so professional! I like making puff pastry ramekin pies but they are never quite as need as your from scratch versions 😉
Oh I’ve made this a couple of times and you’ve reminded me that I should add this to the rotation. Pies are very welcome at our house as well as sausage rolls 🙂
Could eat it off the page!!! Will check with Skater on his progress then will give it a try. Love the filling combo-looks devilishly good!
hot water pie crust? who knew?
That pie looks so appetising! (I *almost* used a z in that word but corrected myself)
The FILLING!!! I want the filling spread on my bread!! You have outdone yourself, Tania.
I’d like to come over for that pie lesson too. That’s a beautiful looking pie and yes, so good for the cold winter’s nights we’re now experiencing. Pies are so warming. Great that Skater is keen to learn to cook! xx
It’s certainly an interesting looking crust. Left over ragu or lasagna filling is great in pies the next day.
This looks lovely Tania! My family loves pies in the cooler weather, but we don’t have them that often as there are absolutely no good gluten free pies out there that I have have discovered at all. What a great pastry, the crust looks amazing and golden. I hope Skater enjoyed them and adds them to his repitoire now 🙂 x
Hi Tania! I’ve never made a hot water crust before, only the ice water versions. The recipe sounds great and so versatile in use — love that. My husband loves when I make savory pies like the gorgeous one in your photo. So I have to give this a try for him. Thanks for sharing:)
I’ve been all about the hearty pies recently! So perfect for winter in Melbourne!
What a super hearty pie! I’ll have to try out that crust.
I’ve never made hot water dough, but that recipe sounds fantastic. Thanks T! And go Skater, this may be the only recipe you ever need! 🙂